FAMILY PASTIMES . PROOF THAT FLAME IS HOLLOW.-Pour some spirit of wine into a watch-glass, and inflame it ; place a straw across this flame, and it will only be ignited and charred at the outer edge; the middle of the straw will be uninjured, for there is no ignited matter in the center of the flame. Or, introduce into the middle of the flame one end of a glass tube, when the vapor will rise through it, and may be lighted at the other end of the tube.
FAMILY PASTIMES. STOOL OF REPENTANCE.-Having placed a stool or chair in the center of the room, one takes her seat upon it, and another called the "judge" stands near her, having previously asked in a whisper of all the rest, what particular offence they charge the repentant one with. Of course the replies must be given in a low voice, or she would hear them. The judge then tells her of one of the crimes with which she is charged, and she must guess who accuses her of it, or forfeit. If she guesses rightly, the accuser must take her place, when the rest proceed to bring their accusations against her. BUFF WITH THE WAND.-Having blindfolded one of the party, the rest take hold of each other's hands in a circle, around him, he holds a long stick. The players then skip around him once, and stop. Buffy then stretches forth his wand and directs it by chance ; and the person whom it touches must grasp the end presented, and call out three times in a feigned voice. If Buffy recognize the voice they change places ; but if not, he must continue blind till making a right guess.
RECEIPTS FOR SOUPS . White Soup.- Take two quarts of the stock, and boil the crumb of a roll in a gill of milk; beat the yolks of six hard-boiled eggs with three ounces of sweet almonds very well in a mortar, with a little cayenne pepper, and add the whole to the soup ; it may be poured over slices of French roll sent up in the tureen. White soup may also be varied with rice. Wash two or three ounces of the best kind, blanch it in boiling water, and drain it ; add the rice to the soup and let it stew until it swells ; or thicken it with ground rice, bruised sago, tapioca, or arrowroot. If macaroni is used, it should be added soon enough to get perfectly tender, after soaking in cold water. Vermicelli may be added after the thickening, as it requires less time to do. If the stock has been made with fowl, take out the white portion when well stewed, pound the meat in a mortar, and add it to the soup-which is a great improvement. It is the fashion now to send up grated Parmesan cheese with white soup; but it partly destroys that delicacy which ought to be the distinctive property of all white soups. Veal Broth.- Stew a knuckle of veal of four or five pounds in three quarts of water, with two blades of mace, an onion, a head of celery, and a little parsley, pepper, and salt; let the whole simmer very gently until the liquor is reduced to two quarts; then take out the meat, when the mucilaginous parts are done, and serve it up with parsley and butter. Add to the broth either two ounces of rice separately boiled, or of vermicelli, put in only long enough to be stewed tender. Almond Soup.-Make the stock of veal, or an old fowl; then put into a mortar one pound of sweet almonds, with a few of the bitter sort, the yolks of six hard-boiled eggs, and a little white pepper; pound this very fine, put it into the stock, and let it simmer gently, putting in a little cold broth as it boils away. Strain it off; thicken it with butter kneaded in flour, and, just before serving, add a teacupful of good cream.
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Winter Soup.-Take carrots, turnips, and the heart of a head of celery, cut into dice, with a dozen button onions; half-boil them in salt and water, with a little sugar in it; then throw them into the broth ; and, when tender, serve up the soup : or use rice, dried peas and lentils, and pulp them into the soup to thicken it. With many of these soups, small suet dumplings, very lightly made, and not larger than an egg, are boiled either in broth or water, and put into the tureen just before serving, and are by most persons thought an improvement, but are more usually put into plain gravy soup than any other, and should be made light enough to swim in it. Dried or Split Pea-Soup.-The liquor in which a leg of mutton or half a calf's-head has been boiled will make an excellent stock for this soup ; but if that of pork be used, and it be much salted, part of the liquor should be thrown away and the remainder mixed with fresh water. Put on the stock to boil, slice into it a head of celery, a carrot and turnip, with two onions ; boil a sufficient quantity of peas in fresh water, putting them in dry when the water boils quickly; when they will mash throw them into the broth with a crust of bread the size of a roll; let them boil for halfan hour, then rub the whole through a sieve, season to taste. Some dried mint should be sent to table in a castor. Bouillon.-This is the common soup of France, and is in use in almost every French family. Put beef into an earthen stock-pot in the proportion of one pound to one quart of cold water. Place it at the side of the fire and let it become slowly hot. By so doing the fibre of the meat is enlarged, the gelatine is dissolved, and the savorous parts of the meat are diffused through the broth. When the obIject is simply to make a good, pure-flavored beef broth, part of the shin or leg will answer the purpose, adding some vegetables, and letting it stew four or five hours ; but if the meat is to be eaten, the rump or leg-of-mutton piece should be used. White Potato Soup.-Take large, mealy potatoes peeled raw, and sliced with half the number of onions, seasoned with white pepper, mace, and salt, and stewed with two pounds of the scrag of mutton or veal in three quarts of water during four hours; then skimmed and strained. Then add three pints of new milk and half an ounce of bitter almonds pounded. Rub the potatoes through a tammy. Let it boil before being served up, but keep stirring it to prevent the almonds from oiling. Rice Soup.-Take white stock, season it, and either whole rice boiled till very tender, or the flour of rice may be used ; one pound and a quarter will be sufficient for two quarts of broth. www. TABLE RECEIPTS . Stewed Beefsteaks.-Put the steak with a lump of butter into a stewpan over a slow fire, and turn it until the butter has become a fine white gravy, then pour it into a basin, and put more butter to the steak. When the steak is nicely done, take it out, return all the gravy into the stewpan, and fry the steak; then add it to the gravy in the stewpan, with a tablespoonful of wine, and a shalot finely sliced; stew it for ten minutes, and serve it up. Or, fry the steak slightly at first, then put it into half-pint of water, an onion sliced, a spoonful of walnut ketchup, pepper and salt, cover it close, thicken it with flour and butter, and serve it up very hot. Jelly of Pigs' Feet and Ears.-Clean and prepare, then boil them in a very small quantity of water till every bono can be taken out; throw in half a handful of chopped sage, the same of parsley, and a seasoning of pepper, salt, and a little mace in fine powder ; simmer till the herbs are scalded, then pour the whole into a melon-form. Serve when cold.
